Santa Monica City Attorney Office Commemorates Fair Housing Month

Press release from the City of Santa Monica:

April 12, 2021

The Public Rights Division of the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office (CAO) is commemorating the 53rd anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 with the virtual workshop Fair Housing During COVID-19 on Thursday, April 29, 2021 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The online workshop will cover new topics, including pandemic-related issues in fair housing, rental-assistance programs for tenants and landlords, and source-of-income discrimination laws, which protect Section 8 voucher-holders and some users of rental assistance. The presenters will include Chief of the Public Rights Division Eda Suh, Deputy City Attorneys Gary Rhoades, Andrew Braver, Autumn Rindels, and Jonathan Erwin-Frank.

All owners, property managers, attorneys, social-service providers, and tenants are invited to attend, free of charge. Pre-registration is required at smconsumer.org. A recording of the Fair Housing During COVID-19 workshop will be available in English and Spanish at smconsumer.org.

You can learn more about fair housing with two videos from the City Attorney’s Office:

• Follow John To Learn About Fair Housing: This unique animation project is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the City Attorney’s Office, IdeaRocket, and Peter Riedle, a Santa Monica student. View the short video here.
• The Past, Present and Future of Fair Housing: A Symposium Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968: The City's symposium on January 18, 2018 featured a blockbuster panel of three speakers, including U.S. Senator (ret.) Fred Harris, the only living member of the 1967-68 Kerner Commission and one who voted for the Fair Housing Act of 1968; Chancela Al-Mansour, Executive Director of the Housing Rights Center; and Director Kevin Kish, Department of Fair Employment and Housing. See the video, which has been viewed more than 12,000 times, here.

This press release was produced by the City of Santa Monica. The views expressed here are the author's own.